The present invention relates to a method and a device for manufacturing an optical fiber end, provided with a face transparent to light waves, for attaching a ferrule, in which the face is formed by cutting through the optical fiber and mechanical machining and the optical fiber is freed of its outer cladding, which completely encloses the outside of the optical fiber, in the region of its end section.
To connect two optical fiber ends, the faces of the optical fibers are to be brought into position very precisely and held there. The faces are to be positioned exactly in relation to one another in both the radial and the axial directions. Ferrules, which must be placed on the end of an optical fiber, are used for plug-in connections. In this case, the attachment of the ferrule to the optical fiber end must have high tensile strength, without the optical fiber being damaged or its optical properties being influenced at the same time.
The faces of the optical fiber ends must be finished very precisely.
In German Patent Application 199 19 428 A1, which relates to the attachment of a ferrule to cladding of an optical fiber, reference is made to the finishing of the face of the optical fiber, among other things. This finishing is performed after the completely processed end piece of the optical fiber has already been provided with a ferrule. The subsequent finishing is difficult and complex, however.